Name: Ragnar Magni Ångström
Age: 18
God/Titan Parent: Aetna
Mortal Parent: Odilia Bergh
Appearance (optional): His face claim is Herman Tømmeraas.
Personality (at least a sentence or two): Almost five hundred years of infernal punishment did Ragnar a lot of good and is silently proud that he is far from the criminal that once walked the earth with hatred. From the criminal that descended to the spiral of madness rose a penitent with a heart melted by hellfire and softened by time. He probably understands rectification, sympathy, and forgiveness more than most. After all, he himself was graced by divine pardon. Thus, he has grown to be more patient and considerate to others. Ragnar may be one of the nicest people you will ever meet, and an honorable one at that. He strives hard and well, especially when noble causes need a helping hand. The spirit of endurance dwells within him, which is already a given, knowing the many trials that he went through in both the worlds of the living and the dead. A humanitarian through and through, he is. (will add more later on)
History (at least two paragraphs): Odilia Bergh, alluring yet vain, was the most sought after prostitute of seventeenth-century Torsåker, Sweden. Satisfying the carnal desires of her countless clients meant salvation from a life of mendicancy. Men and women alike from all over the land came to see her dance. And for an extra fee, patrons could enjoy much more. Odilia thought that her one night stand with a nameless client—who was actually the goddess Aetna—would finally free her from all wants of the world. Aetna left her with a huge sum, which she used to pay off her debts. This wasn't enough still. Her so-called star quality quickly met its demise when she was found to be pregnant. Soon after, she was fired and kicked out of the quarters that she rented.
Odilia tried for other jobs in the neighboring parishes. Little did she know that she was despised by a lot of people for her infamy as a whore; the bane of faithful wives, as some would say. It was for this reason that she was turned down. Seeking the help of her dearest friend, another prostitute named Beatrijs Coevorden, she was introduced to a small commune of middle-aged women back in Torsåker. They gladly took her in and in return, Odilia submitted herself eagerly to the domestic tasks.
As she spent more time with them, she discovered that they were a coven of witches in the service of Melinoe. Odilia, a woman now seeking reform from her wayward ways, learned their trade and was inducted as a sister of the coven as well. However, safety didn't last long. A great wave of witch hysteria known as "The Great Noise" broke throughout Sweden. She feared not for her life but for her child who was about to be born. As the coven was preparing to flee, Odilia gave birth to her firstborn, a boy whom she named Ragnar. She immediately summoned Beatrijs and entrusted the child's life to her, to raise him in a place as far away from Torsåker as possible. Otherwise, a babe embarking on an exodus with the coven spelled death. An hour was all the mother and son had before they were separated. Odilia and her sisters-in-arms disappeared into the night and were never seen again.
Beatrijs settled in Halmstad on Sweden's southern end. Four years were spent in relative peace until she met Hades, her most arduous suitor for three short months. One thing followed after another, and she gave birth to a girl named Miriam. Of course, nothing was heard of from the god after that. A year later, she married a mortal man named Eduard Angström, a stonemason. The following years for Ragnar were uneventful, aside from the fact that he lived his whole childhood helping Eduard in carving out stone blocks and such. The two women, on the other hand, took care of the household.
When Miriam was just seven and Ragnar twelve, an epidemic swept through Halmstad and the surrounding localities, killing Beatrijs, who was then five months pregnant to Eduard's child. Miriam also had the disease but survived it, albeit making her more sickly and vulnerable. To cope with the loss, Eduard indulged himself in the company of women. He often brought them home to be introduced to his children, much to Ragnar and Miriam's disdain. He had a varying taste for his lovers but they found common ground in being liars and heartbreakers. They surely enjoyed their games yet at the same time felt pity for the siblings for having a father with little emotional capability. Ragnar, on the other hand, only had a growing disgust for them. This loathing took a more violent turn when one tried to molest him in his very home. He pursued her in secret then, when the opportunity was ripe, pushed her off a high point. As if punished by the gods, she spent the rest of her life as a cripple. Ragnar did not know about this for he did not bother to take a second look back when he exacted his revenge.
More women have come and gone, and Eduard felt that nobody would take him seriously. The loneliness he felt from this perceived reality shifted his vices from women to drinking. When he became neglectful of his family, Ragnar was already done giving so many chances. He urged Miriam to ditch him for good, but she insisted that they should help him instead. Thoughts of what to do with their father conflicted like fire and ice, and became the root of an estranged relationship between the two.
At one point, Miriam went alone at the dead of night to find and bring the drunk Eduard home. Ragnar, now fifteen, followed suit and found her at the mercy of vicious harpies, wounded and helpless. Being a daughter of Hades, she was attacked by monsters at the early age of eleven. Ragnar's demigod powers were triggered by the scuffle, and he blindly launched molten stones at the harpies. As expected, more of their brethren were drawn to the presence of the two demigods. Ragnar threw a few more stones before passing out while Miriam stared in horror. By Tyche's luck, help arrived in the form of a huntress of Artemis who speedily disposed of the creatures. The two demigods were escorted home thereafter, where a sleeping Eduard greeted them.
Ragnar and Miriam's distant relationship was mended to an extent by the ordeal they faced together, but their father had the audacity to sever this armistice short. A few months had passed, and Eduard could no longer be saved from his misery. One unfortunate night, the intoxicated patriarch raped Miriam, and Ragnar was too late to save her. Overcame by blind rage, he slit his throat with a knife then stabbed him repeatedly for good measure. The murder was a horror to behold. It rattled the poor girl so badly that she went mad.
Over the next year, Miriam became detached from reality just like her late father, and any familial feeling towards Ragnar was no more. The other already grew tired of trying to be patient with his sister. In the end, he abandoned her. As Ragnar left Halmstad, monsters attacked thirteen-year old Miriam in their own home. Mentally incapacitated, she couldn't defend herself and was devoured to death.
Along the way to who-knows-where, the fugitive demigod met a family of refugees that traveled on a wagon. He posed as a victim of domestic abuse who escaped the wrath of his masters in order to earn their trust. They took him in without any doubt. At first, he was determined to start fresh with his new companions but quickly grew impatient on how long their journey took. Now with the intention of stealing their vehicle, he betrayed them by poisoning the mother and her two children. He then proceeded to kill the father by slitting his throat—an act so familiar to him—and went on his way. He didn't travel long, for the wicked deeds he had done in his life came to bite him back in a fit of regret that turned into madness. Ragnar's mindless wanderings brought him to a thick forest, where a flock of stymphalian birds followed him in hot pursuit. Thinking that he was about to grow wings and become one of them, the madman's blade found its mark through his heart. He was seventeen.
Minos and the other judges of the underworld were supposed to sentence Ragnar to suffer eternally in the Fields of Punishment for his crimes but Melinoe intervened on his behalf. When the goddess delivered the news to Odilia, now in the farthest reaches of Norway with her coven, she pleaded for Ragnar's life out of regret for giving him up. She asked her mistress if there was some way to give him a second chance to live a better life. Melinoe praised her faithfulness and thus granted her request, for a price: a life for a life. In the name of love for her son and the coven, Odilia boldly sacrificed herself to witch hunters so that her sisters could escape. She was put on trial and burned at the stake a few days after her capture, and when Death finally came for her, she was brought the Isles of the Blest where she resided in perpetual comfort.
Melinoe, with the blessing of Hades, was able to sway the judges' verdict, and allowed Ragnar to return to the world of the living but on several conditions. First, Ragnar's soul must be purified in the River Phlegethon for a hundred years unless his repentance was proven earlier. Second, he must serve Melinoe for a maximum of five centuries. Third and lastly, the reunion of mother and child would only be permitted should he prove his virtue at the end of his second life. She had no qualms about their offer and thus an agreement was sworn on the River Styx.
It suffices to say that Ragnar learned his lesson. As a matter of fact, he only spent fifty years in the Phlegethon. Melinoe was satisfied of his service as well, which mostly involved relaying messages between the Underworld gods and tending to the hellish creatures; although for the record she made him spend more time slacking off than actually doing errands for her. Call it her treat for the son of one of her most pious followers. Ragnar's service transpired for a few hundred years more before his intended release at the dawn of the twentieth century. However, because of the many deaths caused by wars at the time, she ordered him to stay and help for a hundred more. With his sentence in the Underworld finally finished, he was brought back to life on his "eighteenth" birthday and turned over to Alexander the Great of Camp Half-Blood. Aetna, his godly mother, claimed him afterwards with a spark of volcanic fire.
Weapon(s) (optional): Sword
Comments[]
Amazing job! I'd love to RP with you sometime!
This claim has been approved as a Child of Aetna. You now need to make a page for them and a word bubble, if you aren't sure how to do this you can see the guide here. Once you have done that you can add your character's name to the cabin list located on the cabin pages and start role playing with your new character. If you have any questions feel free to ask a member of the Admin team.
